Agricultural Services for Employers

Agricultural Recruitment System (ARS)

The Agricultural Recruitment System (ARS), through the PA CareerLink, can help you, the employer, find the temporary agricultural (or food processing) workers that you need. The system links employers who have temporary agricultural and food processing jobs with U.S. workers who need these jobs and are willing to, temporarily, live away from their local areas. Using a network of State Workforce Agencies, the ARS is able to help you locate and recruit interested and qualified workers wherever they may be in the United States.

H-2A Program

The ARS system should not be confused with the H-2A Program. The H-2A Program is a separate system which allows agricultural employers to request approval to recruit and hire nonimmigrant foreign workers for temporary agricultural work. That program may be accessed only when it is anticipated that there will be a shortage of domestic agricultural workers. The H-2A Program requires employers requesting H-2A Certification to first attempt to recruit U.S. workers through the ARS. Wages and working conditions must comply with applicable federal and state employment related laws. There is also a requirement that employers provide workers with no cost or public housing which meets federal and state standards.

To access the regulations and application forms on the Internet, click on the following link: www.workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/foreign/contacts.asp . On the right side of the page, click on H-2A; this will take you to the new H-2A Online Application processing system. At the bottom of the page you will find Forms and Instructions. Click on the form that you need to fill out and download. Once you have all of the necessary forms filled out, you then need to forward one copy of the forms to the U.S. DOL/ETA Certifying Officer and one copy to the State Agricultural Recruitment System Coordinator.